


Across the Stars

by rapturousaurora



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Destiny, Exegol, F/M, Fate, First Kiss, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), HEA, Headcanon, It’s a good smooch, Kylo Ren Redemption, Mortis - Freeform, Spoilers, Star-crossed, no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21939289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapturousaurora/pseuds/rapturousaurora
Summary: Hugging Rey close, desperate to feel something of her, her skin against his, a lingering tendril of their once vibrant Force bond—anything—Ben only felt cold silence. Her vacant gaze stared up at the ceiling of the Sith’s Exegol stronghold.And still he felt no anger. No hate. His emotions were dominated by the almost childlike desire to fix what his lifetime of mistakes had broken—Ben wanted to fix her.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 194





	Across the Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [politicalmamaduck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/politicalmamaduck/gifts).



> A special thank you to my dear beta boo, politicalmamaduck, a goddess of #reylo fic, for beta’ing this piece and giving me her blessing to join the esteemed ranks of Reylo writers.
> 
> This is a fix-it of the TROS scene that made us gasp and swoon...up until it didn’t. Here’s the ending these two star-crossed lovers deserved. Highly recommend you listen to the Across the Stars theme track while you read, for which this fic has been named: https://youtu.be/x-gGiZB8lAE. (Link is to an hour long loop, not that this will take you an hour to read 😉).
> 
> Merry Christmas, beta boo ❤️ And Happy Holidays to all!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the rights to anything Star Wars.

_I am every voice you have ever heard inside your head._

Palpatine overestimated the strength of his voice in every iteration it had come—Vader’s, Snoke’s, Sidious’s. And he underestimated the love Ben Solo’s family felt for their woefully misguided son. It was a mother’s voice, a bondmate’s, and then a father’s, that settled the war in Ben’s mind for good, pulling him out of the darkness and into the light. 

_Ben_.

_I did want to take your hand. Ben’s hand._

_I miss you, son...Come home._

When climbing out of the chasm into which Palpatine hurled him, Ben Solo felt Rey’s light in the Force blink out of his universe like an expired star. The impact knocked the breath out of him, and he nearly lost his footing. But he clung to the jagged rock and continued his climb. He had to get to her—had to see her, one last time. 

Once quick to anger, fear, and hate, Ben felt none of those things when he scooped Rey’s lifeless body into his arms. He felt pain, an indescribable amount—not just in his body from his fall, but in his soul. He felt unbalanced—his bondmate lost to him, her feisty presence in the Force now a disturbing void. But above all, he felt disbelief, and an overflowing well of sorrow, that after all this time, after all this fighting, when he’d finally reclaimed his soul, that it was Rey, his beacon of light, who was extinguished. 

Hugging her close, desperate to feel something of her, her skin against his, a lingering tendril of their once vibrant Force bond—anything—Ben only felt cold silence. Her vacant gaze stared up at the ceiling of the Sith’s Exegol stronghold.

And still he felt no anger. No hate. His emotions were dominated by the almost childlike desire to fix what his lifetime of mistakes had broken—Ben wanted to fix her. 

Remembering how Rey used the Force to heal his wound on the Death Star’s wrecked remains, he laid her gently on his lap, supporting her neck with his hand. Resting his other on her belly, Ben closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, relaxing his body so that he could concentrate. 

She had paid steeply for his sins and bought his redemption with her life. He could not let that stand. He wanted Rey to live—to have a full life filled with love and grand adventure—to explore the galaxy free from her dark lineage—to live as she couldn’t as a scavenger on Jakku or as a fighter for the Resistance. He wanted her to have a shot at true, lasting happiness, and he would sacrifice every last bit of his life force to give that to her.

His breathing slowed, and deepened. He pictured a snuffed candle in his mind and willed the Force to rekindle it. It flowed from his core to Rey’s through his palm. He loved her more than he ever had before—no longer a selfish love weighed down by Kylo Ren’s desire for power. It gave him strength to do what needed to be done. He just prayed it would be enough. 

In time, he felt the rise of her belly against his hand, and with this first breath, she laid her bloodied hand on top of his. 

Stirred from his meditation with a heart full of hope, Ben opened his eyes. He exhaled with relief as her own adjusted with newfound life and met his. 

Rey immediately sat up and searched his eyes, trying to determine which man she beheld before her. Kylo Ren or…

“Ben,” she smiled brightly, her happiness amplifying his own.

His eyes watered as he held her gaze, so relieved he was to see her eyes shine back at him once more. 

Leaning forward, Rey touched his cheek tentatively, the one she’d scarred in their first lightsaber battle. But that scar, a physical marker of his fractured, conflicted mind, vanished when he reclaimed his identity as Ben Solo. He had come out on the other side, a man reborn, to fight for the one he loved. 

A soft smile spread across his lips as her fingers ghosted across his cheek and his curls. In this moment, Rey was his entire universe—her touch, her tender gaze, and the beautiful, blessed sound of her returned breath. Nothing else existed—not the battle happening above or even his own physical pain. They were but blips in his consciousness. 

Glancing at her lips, Ben longed to kiss her, but he had taken so much from her already. He would not take this. If she wanted to kiss him, as he thought she might, she would have to seize it for herself.

And seize it she did. 

As Rey’s gaze flicked to his lips, Ben watched her make her decision. Cupping his cheek resolutely, she pulled him into a deep kiss—fulfilling their destinies as star-crossed lovers. Rey’s body pressed firmly against him, her life force entwining with the remnants of his. She poured her love and what she could spare of her restored strength into him. 

Enveloping Rey tightly in his arms, Ben’s heart soared to have his feelings so enthusiastically returned. At long last, after generations of ill-fated family strife, and from opposite sides of the Force, they came together, two parts of one whole, a dyad finally united by loving touch. 

When they parted, she told him through their bond, _I feel it, too_.

A joyful grin alighted Ben’s face. He’d never been happier than he was in this moment. 

Smile fading, he realized he also felt dizzy. 

“Ben?” Worry flickered across Rey’s face. 

He steadied himself. “I’ll be alright. Just feeling weak,” he assured her, brushing back loose strands of hair from her forehead.

Starship fire rumbled overhead—but this time they both noticed and looked up. When their eyes met once more, they wordlessly acknowledged the gravity of their situation.

Taking Ben’s hands, Rey helped him to his feet. “Are you strong enough to pilot Luke’s X-wing?” she asked.

“Yes.” He would do anything for her, including rallying his waning strength to fight for the Resistance.

“Take it then. And get as far away from here as you can. I have to stay—to make sure my friends are safe.” 

“You’re—you’re letting me go? After all I’ve done?”

A somber expression marred her previously blissful features. “Kylo Ren is dead,” she answered with a firm finality. “I killed him.” 

More softly, she added, “And the Resistance does not need Ben Solo. But I do.”

He nodded. Outside Resistance custody, he would have to pay for his sins and earn his atonement another way. 

“I will find you,” Rey promised, squeezing his hands.

Reluctant to leave her just yet, Ben pulled her in for another searing kiss. 

_I love you._

_I know,_ she replied, tears streaking her face. _Now go._

Ben obeyed, hobbling to his uncle’s X-wing as quickly as his battered leg would allow. As he flew away, he watched Rey rejoin her friends on the ground, wishing he could be by her side. But he looked forward to the day when they could truly be together.

If anyone had seen a lone X-wing starfighter exit battle at lightspeed, they were too busy securing a victory to pay it any real mind. By the time they might have given it enough thought to do something, Ben had already disabled the X-wing’s tracking data, and relocated to Wild Space, where his search began for Mortis, an ethereal, sparsely inhabited realm to call home.

No matter where Ben went, or how far, they were two star-crossed lovers, connected mind, body and soul across space and time. Their shared connection in the Force would lead Rey back to him, of that he was certain. 


End file.
